The backhoe is one of the most versatile digging tools available. Backhoes can be maneuvered into position in places to dig where other excavation machines cannot go. The digging apparatus of the backhoe includes a hinged and hydraulically driven armature to which a generally semicircular bucket is hingedly connected. Backhoe buckets tend to be about 2 feet wide and connect to the manipulating armature at a like-sized connection plate. This means that ditches and trenches dug with a backhoe have a minimum width of about 2 feet, and the soil is removed one bucketload at a time.
There are many situations calling for the deposition of cable or flexible pipe in narrow trenches that a backhoe equipped with a conventional bucket or even a modified bucket just can't address. These trenches must be dug by other means. There are specialized excavation machines designed for laying pipe or cable in narrow trenches. While these tools accomplish the task of digging narrow trenches for the deposition of cable thereinto, they are expensive, prone to frequent breakdown, and their use necessitates the purchase or rental of specialized equipment by the contractor, often for one relatively short dig.
Thus, there is a need for an apparatus that would take advantage of the versatility of a backhoe system for digging narrow furrows for the deposition of pipe or cable. The present novel technology addresses this need.